Foreign,Commonwealth and Development Office
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Chevening Scholarships for students from overseas

Overview

Chevening Scholarships are the UK government’s global scholarships programme. Established in 1983, these scholarships support study at UK universities – mostly one-year Masters’ degrees – for students with the demonstrable potential to become future leaders, decision-makers and opinion formers across a wide range of fields, including politics, business, the media, civil society, religion, and academia.

If you have the potential to be a future leader and a desire to study in the UK, sign up and find out more

Eligibility

Chevening Scholarships are currently offered in approximately 110 countries, in most regions of the world. In the current academic year, there are over 700 Chevening scholars at universities across the UK. Those selected will be high-calibre graduates with the personal, intellectual and interpersonal qualities necessary for leadership. They will be citizens of any country other than the UK or another European Union country or the United States of America.

Chevening Scholarships are mainly funded by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), with some contributions from universities and other partners in the UK and overseas, including governmental and private sector bodies.

History

The Chevening Scholarships programme started in 1984, as the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Scholarships and Awards Scheme.

In 1994, the name of the scheme was changed to Chevening, after Chevening House in Sevenoaks, Kent – currently the joint official residence of the Foreign Secretary and the Deputy Prime Minister.

Since the scheme began, over 40,000 students have held Chevening Scholarships. Many have gone on to reach positions of influence in a range of sectors. Famous alumni include:

  • Sergei Stanishev - former Prime Minister of Bulgaria; currently President of the Party of European Socialists
  • Alvaro Uribe Velez - former President of Colombia
  • Baldwin Spencer - Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda
  • Jorma Ollila - Non-Executive Chairman of Royal Dutch Shell; Non-Executive Chairman of Nokia
  • Maged Shawki - former Chairman of the Cairo and Alexandria Stock Exchange
  • Xu Shandu - Vice-Minister for Tax Administration, People’s Republic of China
  • Vahram Kazhoyan - UNESCO Chair, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Armenia
  • Tigran Mkrtchyan - Adviser to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Armenia
  • Nittish Mishra - Cabinet Minister, Bihar State, India
  • Jaime Bermudez - Minister of Foreign Affairs, Colombia
  • Anote Tong - President of Kiribati
  • Marek Belka - former Prime Minister of Poland; currently Head of the National Bank of Poland
  • Joao Miranda - former Minister for Foreign Affairs, Angola
  • Giga Bokeria - Secretary of the National Security Council, Georgia
  • Gega Mgaloblishvili - former Prime Minister of Georgia; currently Georgian Ambassador to NATO
  • Chong Hiu Yeung - General Secretary of the Hong Kong Journalists Association
  • Normans Penke - former State Secretary of the Latvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs; currently Latvian Ambassador to the UN
  • Irena Radovic - former Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister, Montenegro; currently Montenegrin Ambassador to Republic of France with ambassador accreditations for the UNESCO and Principality of Monaco
  • Wang Lili - Vice Governor of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China
  • Bozidarka Dodik - War Crimes Prosecutor, State Prosecutor’s Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina

How to apply

Applications for 2013/14 Chevening Scholarships are now closed.

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